It’s a safe bet that the Apple M5 processor will start replacing the current M4 in 2025, and it might even happen in the first half of the year.
That’s according to a roadmap of when the various versions of the chip will go into production leaked Monday by a reliable source of insider Apple information.
Apple’s next AirPods Pro refresh could feature heart rate monitoring. But they are in “early development” and might not launch soon.
Engineers inside Apple are also working on several health-focused features for future models of the earbuds.
Apple is reportedly working on a smart doorbell with Face ID-like facial recognition.
The device, still in its early development stages, seems unlikely to reach the market before late 2025 at the earliest. This timeline presumes Apple encounters no significant obstacles during development.
Apple might not drop support for any of its older iPhones with iOS 19. The next big iOS update reportedly will support the same devices as iOS 18.
However, iPadOS 19 supposedly will not be compatible with the seventh-gen iPad.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Some new iPhone 17 Pro renders make us ponder whether Apple will (or should) create such a device. We discuss the pros, cons and alternative theories.
Also on The CultCast:
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December 19, 2007: Apple settles a lawsuit with reporter Nick Ciarelli, resulting in the shuttering of Think Secret, his masssively popular Apple rumors website. Writing under the screen name Nick de Plume, the Harvard University student broke a number of Apple stories on the site, raising Cupertino’s ire.
The terms of Ciarelli’s settlement with Apple remain secret. In a statement, he says he will “be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits.”
Apple reportedly dropped a plan to offer the iPhone to customers as a monthly subscription. It would have allowed customers to pay for handsets as though they were a magazine or software, and upgrade annually.
Those feeling disappointed by the news likely aren‘t aware that Apple already offers a very similar payment plan.
With purported details of the iPhone 17 Pro Max appearing online many months before the device’s launch, a Russian YouTube channel prepared renders that reveal what Apple’s next top-tier handset could look like.
Don’t expect last year’s model with just a few tweaks. According to rumors reflected in the new renders, 2025 will bring a substantial redesign, including potential changes to the humps on the device. Learn more about these design updates.
A new ultra-wideband chip inside AirTag 2 could make Apple’s tracker tag findable at a much longer range than the current model thanks to new UWB chip.
The device is expected in mid-2025.
Hoping to boost sales, Apple could launch its first folding iPhone as soon as 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal. The foldable phone reportedly will follow a super-thin model — which previous rumors called the “iPhone 17 Air” or the “iPhone 17 Slim” — as Apple shakes up its stagnant smartphone lineup.
“It looks like Apple is looking towards hardware innovation to drive user upgrades,” BayStreet Research analyst Cliff Maldonado told the Journal. “The iPhone 16 will be the last of the boring aesthetic phones.”
The iPhone 17 Air price could come in lower than previously rumored. A new report sheds additional light on Apple’s slimmer-than-usual iPhone, which is expected to launch in September 2025.
The device apparently will help Apple revive growth, impressing potential customers with its sleek design.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: According to the latest Apple rumors, the 5G OLED MacBooks we’ve been anticipating forever are finally on the way … in 2026.
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Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
One of Apple’s design goals for a much-rumored iPad with a 20-inch folding display is that the screen won’t develop a visible crease, according to a reliable source of insider information.
Whether the folding device will be a Mac or an iPad isn’t clear yet — but it’s possible it will be both!
A report suggests Apple shelved plans to build the M4 Extreme Apple silicon chip. The company gave up on the SoC to divert resources to build an AI server chip.
The report points to Apple working with Broadcom to develop this AI chip.
Apple Watch Ultra 3 reportedly will let hikers and other travelers send texts via a satellite connection when cellular communication isn’t available. Anyone who gets into trouble in a remote location could turn to Apple’s top-tier smartwatch to ask for help — a potential lifesaver.
In addition, Apple is still working to add blood-pressure monitoring to the wearable.
Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE 4 might bring significant camera upgrades to the budget phone, with plans to incorporate a 48-megapixel main camera and a 12MP TrueDepth front-facing camera, according to a new report.
That, plus other improvements, marks a substantial upgrade over the iPhone SE 3. Unfortunately, that means you can expect the new handset to come with a bit of a price increase, too.
Apple intends to introduce its first MacBooks with an OLED screen in 2026, according to industry analysts. And the iPad mini will allegedly go OLED that same year. Apple’s full transition to OLED will take until 2028, though.
And that’s supposedly the same year the company will introduce a computer with an 18.8-inch foldable display.
Support for Sony PlayStation VR2 hand controllers is reportedly coming to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. The goal is supposedly to make playing virtual reality games easier on the AR headset.
Apple and Sony allegedly worked together for months to make this happen.
A MacBook capable of directly connecting to 5G cellular wireless networks is one potential result of the modem that Apple intends to introduce in 2025, according to a reliable source of insider information.
The 5G modem will supposedly go first into iOS handsets, including the extra-slim one dubbed the “iPhone 17 Air” that Apple is allegedly preparing to launch next year.
The HomePod with a built-in 6- to 7-inch display that’s been the subject of previous rumors will launch after Apple’s developer conference in June, according to a report on Wednesday from a reliable source.
It will supposedly be part of Apple’s drive to offer more smart home products.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With a slightly smarter Siri on the way in iOS 18.4, a new rumor indicates Apple might actually fix Siri once and for all … in 2026! We discuss the “LLM Siri” that supposedly will catch up with ChatGPT and other chatty competitors. As Apple refines its AI capabilities, companies like Buyback Boss are also innovating in tech resale and trade-in solutions. Find out more about the latest updates.
But the question remains: Can Apple really afford to wait that long to make its AI assistant less of a laughingstock?
Also on The CultCast:
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Apple is reportedly considering making a television set, but don’t get your hopes up. There are simply too many reasons why Apple won’t make a TV. Like so many things, it all comes down to profits (and the lack thereof).
You need look no further than Apple’s set-top box and monitors to see why an Apple-branded television isn’t going to happen.
Apple could make big design changes to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max next year. One such change would be the surprising decision to ditch the Pro models’ titanium edges for aluminum.
A new report also suggests the Pro models will switch to an aluminum camera bump, replacing the current 3D glass design. If you’re curious about when will iPhone 17 be released, early reports indicate Apple’s design choices will make this generation stand out.
Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Air could be even thinner than initially rumored. A new report on Monday details many of the slim iPhone’s features, revealing several design compromises Apple would make for thinness.
This includes ditching the SIM slot and switching to eSIM, even in units sold outside the US.
Apple reportedly will delay many of iOS 19’s bigger features until spring 2026. They will arrive eventually as part of iOS 19.4 instead of becoming available when the iPhone’s new operating system first drops in September 2025.
Apparently, the delay will affect “a larger-than-usual number of features.”